Nitrogen starvation induces the accumulation of arachidonic acid in the freshwater green alga Parietochloris incisa (Trebuxiophyceae)

The Chlorophyte Parietochloris incisa comb. nov (Trebuxiophyceae) was found to be the richest plant source of the pharmaceutically valuable long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), arachidonic acid (20: 46, AA). Over 90% of total AA are deposited in triacylglycerols (TAG). Under nitrogen starvation, the fatty acid content constituted over 35% of dry weight and the proportion of AA exceeded 60% of total fatty acids. Consequently, we obtained an AA content of over 20%. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the highest reported content of any PUFA in algae. Increasing the biomass concentration resulted in an enhancement of both the proportion of AA and the fatty acid content. We hypothesize that one of the roles of TAG in P. incisa is to serve as a reservoir of AA that can be used for the construction of membranal lipids.